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Review: Scan 3XS-OC

by Tarinder Sandhu on 26 February 2004, 00:00

Tags: SCAN

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Introduction

Scan 3XS-OC Overclocked Series System Review

Recently, we've reviewed complete PCs from some of the big-name system integrators in the UK. MESH, Evesham, and Time have all had a go at supplying a system that brings the best price-to-performance ratio in favour of the consumer. Massive buying power, on occasion, allows these firms to churn out high-end PCs that are difficult to replicate if you're attempting to build by yourself. As we saw in our recent look at two heavyweight Athlon 64 systems, considerable value is to be had if the components veer on the pricier side. We're sure that neither firm pays considerably less than the retail for the Athlon 64 3200+ model, for instance.

What is a system ?. In its barest form it's a combination of components that are known to work together. That's why savvy component e-tailers have sought to produce pre-built systems of their own. They sell the parts by the thousand, so the next logical step is to amalgamate a considered selection into a fully-formed PC. Scan, as we saw with our look at its 3XS system, has tried to do exactly that. OEM systems are usually characterised by the use of standard components, that is, components that meet a basic specification. We, however, know that a carefully chosen mix of componentry can often yield results far in excess of what's written on the box.

With that in mind, Scan has decided to launch a PC that's far more in tune with the enthusiast's heart. The 3XS-OC (Overclocked Series) pays specific attention to the CPU, motherboard, system RAM, and graphics card. Why ?, because anyone who's used a recent Intel Pentium 4 800MHz FSB CPU and i865PE / i875P combination knows, there's untapped potential performance that goes begging at strictly stock speeds. Sounds interesting, doesn't it ?. Read on and find out if Scan's vision of an enthusiast's PC ties in with ours.